This year’s Cannes Film Festival had a weird vibe. I’m saying that from the outside looking in – there was a distinct lack of glamour on the red carpet and a distinct lack of buzz around Cannes. Cannes used to be Harvey Weinstein’s favorite hunting ground, and the film festival organizers have done very little to change the festival’s reputation away from “the festival for predators and abusers.” Things turned especially sour last week when Kelly Rowland was basically shoved off the red carpet by festival security. Several security guards buzzed around her, ruining her photos and refusing to allow her to pose on the steps. Kelly told one of the security guards off, and Kelly later said that she felt like there was racism involved. There was.
Days later, Dominican actress Massiel Taveras was also involved in an incident in Cannes. Just like the Kelly Rowland incident. Massiel was not allowed to simply pose for photographers and unveil her long train. Security once again buzzed around her, blocking photos and attempting to hustle her up the steps. The very same security woman who got told off by Kelly Rowland was there. That security woman put her hands on Massiel and Massiel threw hands right back:
Actress Massiel Taveras had a portrait of Jesus Christ on her dress at the red carpet.
The security guards immediately rushed her out. pic.twitter.com/YFE4pbIU0R
— MatrixUnraveled (@MatrixMysteries) May 26, 2024
The very same security people were also involved with hustling South Korean star Yoona off the carpet and ruining her photos too.
Security guard rushed YoonA out of the carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.
The same security guard was involved in incidents with Kelly Rowland and Massiel Taveras. https://t.co/BW71PS71yN
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 26, 2024
So… what the hell was going on? Why did festival organizers fire these a–holes? Was there a specific mandate to ruin the red carpet for women of color? Why did Cannes organizers not apologize to Kelly, Yoona and Massiel? This is insane. Massiel posted a statement on her social media and she gave a lot of love to Kelly as well.
Photos courtesy of Massiel’s Instagram.
What the f is wrong with these people. I am fuming watching this bs: it’s just ra red carpet on stairs b*tches for a PHOTO. Let them omg. They were stolen a beautiful moment.
White Actors need to denounce this awful behavior. Maybe even boycott Cannes for the atrocious way POC Actors were treated. This is ridiculous.
I think that if I was involved, I would have clocked that female security guard. She was so rude!!
So apparently unless you have a premiere you are not allowed to pose on the steps. This has always been the rule. This isn’t Hollywood, this is a respectable film festival
@Sasha: and the Oscars is not a respectable film event? Or the Emmys? And how many (white) models on the steps at Cannes have we seen over the years? Too many to count.
O Sasha you are definitely telling on yourself with this comment. These post really have you all showing your true colors.
A “ respectable film festival” that gives standing ovations to child malesters like Woody Allen , convicted child malesters Roman Polanski and abusers Johnny Depp and Mel Gibson just to name a few so responsible .
There’s nothing respectable about it. It’s Cannes!!! lmao Its as corrupt and sleazy as anything in HW if not more
Equally hilarious is listening to fans claiming this woman wasn’t allowed to pose because anti Christian something or other, while the other half insist it’s racism. I don’t know maybe Cannes security are secretly Satan worshipping nazis OR maybe these d listers did not pay for photo time.
But posing on the red carpet, including the steps, is the only reason for models and influencers, and actors and musicians not in a movie to even be there. Just look at Heidi klum’s current magazine cover. I don’t think America’s Got Talent was premiering at Cannes.
The premiere thing makes sense, EXCEPT Heidi Klum was photographed on a clear set of steps at this year’s festival and she didn’t premiere any films.
“Coincidence.” Isn’t that the usual expression?
WHO is that security woman? Why does she get away with this? I felt awful watching what happened to Kelly, and with Masiel it was even worse. I felt so bad for her and so angry with that disgusting woman, that I could barely watch it. She pushed Masiel with her arm!!! I’m so angry.
My questions: Who is she and why wasn’t she taken off that duty after the first embarrassing incident? If she’s acting on her own judgment, she needs to be removed because her judgment is bad. If she’s taking orders, who’s giving them?
This is an embarrassment for the festival.
This. Why does she still have a job after the first incident? The festival keeps her on, she harasses more actresses, and the festival doesn’t apologize?
Cannes owns this now. If they don’t make amends, maybe we’ll see a boycott next year …
The festival feels like they’re leaning into racism and misogyny at this point. I’m not sure they care. I hate it.
I think they got away with it (the security) because they were doing what they were told to do – they were implementing the official policy. Not saying it is the right policy. I did see one issue with a Ukranian woman as well, but goodness, this seems targeted at specific groups or specific people at the very least, right? And Canne has said nothing?
You all keep telling on yourselves.
It’s wild to me that the guard wasn’t let go after the Kelly Rowland incident, or even warned not to do sh!t like that. And that organizers aren’t falling over themselves to apologize or attempt to explain it away. Bizarre.
I think these people are all volunteers. My friend has been working security at TIFF for years on a voluntary basis. So it’d basically be very easy for the festival to pull this woman from this duty.
It’s not a coincidence that the women blocked were women of colour.
To be fair; she threw out a model from Ukraine. So, she must be a fan of women…
Why are we being fair to the racist white security guard?
That’s how racism thrives. Good people, 2 sides to the story.
Yeah, we’re not dismissing or denying racism.
I was sarcastic. There is nothing fair about hating on women. When you add obvious element of racism, it is even more disturbing. And yet, her coworkers supporter her. Just vile.
Misogyny is older and bigger than racism. But I’m pretty sure this lady’s a double-decker.
Sadly many wester europeans considers eastern europeans as beneath them as well. We saw the ugly side of that during the Brexit campaign. The brexiters wanted to stop easter eauropeans from working in Britain. Forgetting that many of them were doing seasonal jobs (as berry and fruit picking) the brits didn’t want themselves. Probably why that tory woman mentioned fruit picking as an option for Sunak’s national service suggestion.
“And yet, her coworkers support her.” But do they really? The only outlet reporting that one of her unnamed colleagues supported the passive-aggressive (or just flat out aggressive) “usher” was DailyFail, the paper that only lies on days ending in “y.”
Deadline did pick up the story, but gave full attribution to DailyFail reportage of so-called “colleagues” of the usher, who remain unnamed currently.
@kirk
True. I did see the headline on msn, but it was fail’s article. And the comments were dreadful. It is like there is a parallel world where women don’t matter. And to think a woman is the one doing this.. Each movement inspired another. Civil Rights were followed by Women’s Rights and Stonewall. 50 yrs later, we have this.
I said on the first post about this, I have never ever seen such aggressive security people on red carpet. Everyone is there to promote stuff and create a buzz through fashion. There were some disgusting comments about how Kelly is nobody, etc. That isn’t even the point. Even people with little fame are there for work, this is their work. People are trying to come up with all the reasons for how these WOC broke some rule and apparently all the white women knew the rules. It is just sad honestly. Fashion and red carpet should be moments we can watch to get away all the sh*t in the world and that awful woman brought it right back. I hope, SNL makes a good skit out of it.
Anyone surprised?? Because most American have this view Europe is not racist. European are covert racist and many expats will say this is the problem. France is very racist to other races.
It’s a lot to hope for, but I wish the biggest stars would boycott Cannes next year.
Agree! I lived in France for a number of years and I observed it to be very racist. I had a client who was a woman of colour. She was born in France, when her wallet and ID were stolen, she had to get proof from her former primary school teachers that she was born and raised in France.
Quite a few europeans are not even covert racists, they’re very open about it.
One only has to look at Brigitte Bardot and see some of the no-holes-barred racist BS she’s been spewing for ages. She’s been fined 6 times for “inciting racial hatred”. She referred to residents of Réunion island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, as “degenerate savages”. She once wrote to Nicolas Sarkozy, referring to Muslims as “this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts”. Horrible woman…
I wish one of the women would shove this security guard’s flat, power-tripping ass down the stairs. Let’s see if she’s laughing then.
she was probably rejected by the police academy, and had to settle for security guard.
Well well. Not at all surprising.
Shameful. Also shameful: all the people saying “there’s no excuse to put your finger in someone’s face!” & completely missing the blatant racism from the security guard.
yes. disappointing but not at all surprising. and shameful. I hope the guard gets canned!
Are you kidding me? The way she’s plowing through these women with impunity, she may even get a raise. I think she should be named and shamed, since so far she’s benefiting from anonymity and the event is just “Cannes” with no name associated with it. She appears to be very proud to be head gatekeeper in charge, so she should be named.
YoonA is from Girls Generation, one of the OG K-Pop girl groups. And she’s had a years long successful solo career after that. The look of disgust she gave that security, was the same as an arm shove or a pointed finger. Her fans have been all over social media, demanding an apology and defending all three of these ladies. Cannes woke up the K-pop stans, now there’s no where to hide.
She’s also an award-winning actress who has starred in many films and K-dramas.
What a disgusting display of racism for the French/France to show the world. This is how they treat guests. It is very unsettling to watch, I can’t imagine how these women feel.. I’m shaking in anger for them.🤬💔
Ooh I hope the K-pop fans rain down holy Hell on this festival!
The reason why Beyoncé and the Kardashians always get the photo is that they travel with an entourage that keeps event security at bay. Massiel Taveras needed an assistant to help unfurl her dress and block the aggression of security. Why that guard felt it necessary to follow Kelly, Massiel and Yoona all the way up the stairs is the real issue. The answer explains her excessive and completely inappropriate behavior.
I dont understand what the security guard is trying to achieve? Doesnt she know that the whole point of the stairwalk on the red carpet is to be able to pose for photos??
It just defeats the purpose of the whole thing. The women are not trying to be divas or anything they are trying to do what they are there to do.
Its like having an art exhibition but having a security guard desperetly trying to hold up a blanket in front of a painting. Like what were they thinking cause the other security are in on it to?
I wonder if there will be some comment from the organisers.
I’ve watched the Cannes festivals over the years and usually press photos (the published ones) are taken at or near the bottom of the stairs. Once celebrities start their ascent photographers move on to the next group. However, it’s not unusual for an actor to stop and wave at the crowd but I’ve never seen security surround someone like they did Kelly. And Tavares was a completely different level of mistreatment. Zero excuse for the response from security and complete bewilderment by the lack of response from festival organizers.
Yes, exactly. They have spent a lot of time, money and effort planning their look for that moment. Their photos are such a big part of why they even show up to these events.
Absolutely infuriating and disgusting. Getting those photos is also part of their JOBS. I hope they put this on blast until they apologize at the minimum!!
The way the male security kept grabbing and scrunching Massiel’s train was really galling. I could feel how upset she was through the screen.
On the other hand, it is pretty impressive how Cannes managed to create globe-spanning offense.
On a fashion note, that Jesus cape was kind of cringe.
I wish celebrities will stop going to this nonsense festival and also really speak out against this kind of treatment. Is the security guess trying to be famous ? Because she has done this to 3 minority women … that’s not a coincidence. I guess she is not fired because Cannes aligns with racist assholes and is ok with this woman mistreatment of other women, especially minority and Black women. The hell with Cannes.
Some people were calling her for the security to be thrown on those same steps she is trying to block… I don’t advocate for that. I just would like her to be respectful or be fired.
The film industry needs to boycott the Cannes Film Festival going forward, especially white people.
Oh, rewarding POC best actress(es) this year did not negate Cannes’ racism.
And what would that achieve ?
Here is the jury of the 2024 edition : https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/juries/
It’s reasonably balanced, and includes G. Gerwig or Lily Gladstone, who are not exactly a bunch of frauds.
The festival rewarded a movie on sisterhood in modern Mumbai (2nd prize); a movie made by an Iranian Director who had to flee his country; a full female cast of Hispanic descent in a movie about a Mexican drug lord transitioning…Surely we can come up with something more meaningful than “boycott !!”
Sorry but what does it matter that the festival invites some people of color to be jury members if they still treat people of color badly in other areas? It doesn’t absolve from sharing the blame for their security guard’s (or whatever that stair-woman thinks she is) poor conduct. Otherwise, it’s close to saying, “You should be happy we let you on the jury, so don’t complain.”
CEL2495
I stand by my stated desire to see that power-tripping B pushed right down the same stairs that seem to be her FAVE place to bulldog and humiliate WOC.
ASS OVER TEA KETTLE
This makes me so angry. I’d say boycott, but I’m not sure how that would even be done! I hate elitest crap.
I don’t get why the festival’s organizers think it’s OK to continue to ignore this very obvious display of racism.
The first incident already made the whole event look bad, but three?
If the film festival can’t be bothered to react to this, why don’t other people speak up – politicians, PR people, or brand representatives?
Perhaps they’re complicit and approve? Perhaps there have been no consequences—as of yet — that seem sufficiently negative? At this point, the festival is receiving publicity that goes way beyond getting the attention of people who already care about such things.
As to your last comment, that would be great — but it’s not always easy to get people who are not themselves personally impacted by racism to “speak up” — especially if there may be negative consequences for doing so.
I’m just here for the comments from everyone here that said Kelly was rude and aggressive and that’s why she was being disrespected. Because there was a lot of y’all “allies” in the comments bending over backwards to make it the Black woman’s fault. 🙄
Which was odd, bc she really didn’t get “rude” until the very end, when the guard clearly stepped on her dress and seemed to have said something nasty/dismissive to her in response. She didn’t even respond to the woman aggressively blocking her shots and doing the “hover hands” by her head/face.
@Tuesday
I was one of those people. Well, I didn’t say that Kelly was rude and aggressive, but I did feel like that gesture was aggressive (important difference, I think). I admit that I was wrong, this guard is obviously the common denominator here. It this the kind of comments you are here for?
@Mimi,
you are right, I also thought that Kelly was patient for a long time, more so than this lady.
Oh joy, another article for some of the commenters to show their racism.
Yep. Some people never miss a chance to hate on women of color. Tale as old as time. Solidarity be damned.
Um, I don’t think you’re allowed to pose for photos on the steps. That’s the reason.
No it’s not! Go through this slide gallery for several photos of models & actors posing on the stairs:
https://footwearnews.com/gallery/cannes-film-festival-red-carpet-photos/cannes-film-festival-red-carpet-style-27/
There are pictures of exactly that security woman not coming near to other actresses who were posing on the stairs but they were white. So much to that!
According to the protocol, only lead actresses in showcased films are allowed to pose on the steps. All other guests are to climb the stairs . This directly quoted from Cannes rules and regulations, if which there are many.
Yet she is only doing it to Black and other Poc. I love how you’re trying to make excuses for racism, but I’m sure you have a lot in common with this security .
You and Lucy p. two pea in a pod …
And the name calling begins for the mortal sin of quoting from the rules posted on the internet. Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Libra
Have you bothered to see how WHITE, non-leading ladies have been treated by security while ascending the stairs?? Before you go defending this power-tripping security B as just “following protocol”??? And even IF the security B has been interacting with ALL the actresses this way (she HAS NOT btw) are you suggesting that the WAY she’s interacting with the actresses is APPROPRIATE???
And if it’s a time crunch thing, what that security B does ends up DELAYING the actress ascending the stairs because they’re forced to stop to contend with this B.
Libra, the problem with your argument is there is video of Heidi Klum in the middle of the red staircase. Taking all the time in the world to set up with shots and security is not bothering her. With her assistants spreading the train of her dress out. Again, ushers/security had no problem with that. No arm blocking, no pointing to get up the stairs or boxing around her so no photos could be taken. The hypocrisy on the rules is a bit much.
Now what movie is she starring in hmmmm?
Even if there are rules, security does not get to treat people this way. And the fact Cannes has said nothing about it. Speaks volumes to what this is really about.
Honestly, I don’t understand why everyone is defending this security guard, in the video you can tell how close she was and violating their spaces, she aggressively held her out out and kept pushing despite being asked not to, she also did not de-escalate and be more mindful and kept pushing, unlike professionals who have these experience to remain calm. Lastly, you can see in the video she when she pushed Massel before Massel pushed her, she actually touched the side of Massel’s chest, I would have shoved her too if someone kept getting in my space, ruining my dress, and then slapping me on my side boob. No, she was awful!
At least there’s plenty of photographic evidence of this woman’s behaviour!
Landlordsucks,
You don’t understand why “everyone” is defending the security guard?? Who is “everyone”?? The commenters here here condemning the security guard far, FAR outnumber the commenters defending her. In fact, I can count on one hand how many commenters here are defending her, out of 61 total comments (so far).
Kaiser, there was one other woman harassed by the guard, which would up the count to four. I can’t tell you the name because I didn’t know her: she was pretty, short brown hair, and after being crowded, hovered or touched, shoved the guard back. And this happened at the top of the stairs. It was around the day or day after Kelly Rowland was harassed.
Why keep harassing someone when they are almost into the theater. I think it was egregious behavior, as someone said, escalating, rather than deescalating. And always the same character. The lady that had the long train, that incident became ugly, and it was in no way unclear, even if there was a language barrier, that the actress wanted her train to be photographed. Had the guard stood back and let it be, it would not have become an ugly incident, and it would have been over much sooner. She, the guard, was the problem. This guard didn’t save time, she extended the time, and made the scene ugly. I am extremely angry about these incidents, most especially because she was knew she was upsetting the four ladies (that we know of), and absolutely would not stop. I’m so angry over this. I’m not on twitter, so I can’t show, or don’t know how, to show support for the harassed women.
@Therese that is Massiel Taveras who Kaiser referenced several times in the post.
Also, the guard putting her hand up, blocking the actress, as well as her other hand blocking her own face: what was that about? That is beyond the pale. She was not protecting herself from a problem, she was the problem.